Legend

“For Wednesday, when Federer makes his debut, we have doubled the price of tickets that have not yet been sold," said the president of Italian tennis federation Angelo Binaghi to the AGI news agency. "It's a way to reward fans who have secured the place and have paid much less."

Bionic Poster

Other way to look at it is that people who are last minute buyers need to pay the ( higher )price a Fed appearance deserves and people who got tickets early retain their right with the lower priced ticket.

Legend

Other way to look at it is that people who are last minute buyers need to pay the ( higher )price a Fed appearance deserves and people who got tickets early retain their right with the lower priced ticket.

Mmm but Roger only announced his decision a few days before the tournament started so how would anyone know to purchase them in advance? I get why the prices went up but that's a bogus statement, he upped the price just because there was an opportunity to make more money.

Bionic Poster

Mmm but Roger only announced his decision a few days before the tournament started so how would anyone know to purchase them in advance? I get why the prices went up but that's a bogus statement, he upped the price just because there was an opportunity to make more money.

"I heard some fans clearly were not happy about it. That’s obviously disappointing to hear. They rewarded the fans who bought tickets earlier, which is sort of strange, but OK,.I just really hope it doesn’t take away the fact I’m really happy to be here. ... I’m pumped up to play well. My excitement couldn’t be bigger.”

Agree on the red over the brown for USO08. But I'll defend Fedr a bit on this outfit. I agree that with the same design, there are better colors than the light brown he'll wear. But the normally nice colors like red/blue/black/etc. can only be worn so much before it's same-o same-o. If anything, this will make him look 'different' from the other players, and with him being an elder statesman and father-of-4, maybe his thoughts were that he should not look gaudy. I'm not sure many would think the mint he wore for Miami19 would be nice before he wore it physically (him winning helps a lot I'm sure ). There have been hideously bad ones like the AO18 'two-stripes' from Nike .

Hall of Fame

Fedr:
“I’m really happy to be here. There’s going to be good crowds hopefully, good atmosphere. Personally I’m very happy to be here. I’m pumped up to play well. I mean, my excitement couldn’t be bigger,” said the Swiss player.

“The moment I landed in Rome yesterday, I was so happy to be here. I love this city. Always enjoyed playing in Italy. It’s probably the country I’ve played the most junior tennis in. Coming down from Switzerland to the clay courts was always a logical junior trip. They have very strong junior tournaments here. I love being here, especially in this city as well,” he said.

Hall of Fame

I'm laughing at "rewarding the fans that paid early". It's price-gouging pure and simple. People will pay more to see Roger so Rome knows it can charge much more now that Roger has confirmed... and they will sell those higher priced tickets. Capitalism at both its finest and suckiest.

Talk Tennis Guru

I'm laughing at "rewarding the fans that paid early". It's price-gouging pure and simple. People will pay more to see Roger so Rome knows it can charge much more now that Roger has confirmed... and they will sell those higher priced tickets. Capitalism at both its finest and suckiest.

Hall of Fame

I'm laughing at "rewarding the fans that paid early". It's price-gouging pure and simple. People will pay more to see Roger so Rome knows it can charge much more now that Roger has confirmed... and they will sell those higher priced tickets. Capitalism at both its finest and suckiest.

Bionic Poster

Whether or not it happens, it is clear that is his mind set. Fed cannot help himself, you cannot become the GOAT if the thrill of the fight and desire to win everything isn't there. He has those competitive juices flowing right now, and I don't think he cares how big the fight is, he wants to fight it.

This is one of the better and more insightful Fed interviews, even though brief. He sums everything up perfectly: "I'm not here to break every single record." He said the same thing when he bagged #100 in Dubai when asked about pursuing Jimbo's 108 tournaments record.

Hall of Fame

There's no way Roger wins this title winning 5 matches on Rome clay on consecutive days. He might get through Sousa and Coric. Beating Tsitsipas / Fognini will be a tough one already - I suppose if it's Stefanos it could be that he will start to feel all the matches he's played recently. I don't think he goes further.

Bionic Poster

There's no way Roger wins this title winning 5 matches on Rome clay on consecutive days. He might get through Sousa and Coric. Beating Tsitsipas / Fognini will be a tough one already - I suppose if it's Stefanos it could be that he will start to feel all the matches he's played recently. I don't think he goes further.

Hall of Fame

Agreed. Fedr was literally inches away from beating Thiem on his first MP serve return. He was right there with the hottest clay player at the time. This is why I think it's better to lose close matches than being straight setted, even though it's definitely more painful. Hopefully, Fedr left Madrid feeling that even though he lost, he wasn't blown away. Not even close. That's probably part of the reason he chose to play Rome a day after.

Rookie

I was so excited as it’s 7pm my time, absolutely perfect. It’s never happened during the European season that I could actually watch a roger match in normal hours. And then...apparently it’s raining dogs and cats at the moment in Rome!